If you are familiar with the concept of a “driving force” you know that strong, thriving organizations take their driving force seriously.

Apple’s driving force is super cool products. You would never catch them launching something that wasn’t sleek, flashy, high tech, and intuitive.

GE is driven by profits and is willing to acquire any business from appliances to healthcare to water quality as long as the profit is impressive. Slip and you are gone in a blink. The products and markets involved are irrelevant.

Gerber is a good example of a company that is market driven. As they’ve expanded beyond baby food into children’s clothing and life insurance, their market has remained constant.

Additional driving forces include: capacity, production capabilities, sales channels, distribution channels, natural resources, and social cause. A good strategic planning process establishes this kind of clarity.

What is your driving force?

But before you compare your company to the options mentioned above, take a moment to consider your REAL driving force? It may be none of the above!

What individuals, decisions, opportunities, capabilities, concerns, trends, lack of decisions or opportunities, or other forces are most responsible for your current status and trajectory? Could it be:

• Your biggest or most demanding customers
• The strongest voice on the executive team
• Fear of failure
• The last great idea you read about in the WSJ
• Your inability to develop a strategy with a clear driving force
• Your inability to get agreement on a strategy
• A nicely profitable opportunity that popped up a quarter or two back
• The path of least resistance
• Your most competent group of managers
• Luck
• Inertia
• A well thought out and well executed strategy

Take a good look at why you are where you are and the forces at play. There is no sense in spending precious time developing a strategy if your future is going to governed by something other than a well thought out strategy!

Strategies rarely fail in the creation. It is the execution that counts.

Want to make your strategy more than an interesting conversation? Give me a call today! 800-527-0087.